


The Bleeding Lotus

by the_glare_you_see



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Aliens, Arguing, Avatar, Bending (Avatar), Destiny, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, Fighting, Hero Complex, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, In a way, Not Canon Compliant, Some Swearing, Twins, definitely not cannon compliant, frick, ig??, powers, uhhhh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-09-18 21:38:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20319907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_glare_you_see/pseuds/the_glare_you_see
Summary: The Avatar was supposed to be one person. That's the way it always was and always had been. But the spirits had a different idea for this cycle.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [novoaa1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/novoaa1/gifts).

> am i starting another one????? yes, yes i am.
> 
> am i gonna update it???? who k n o w s

The entirety of their lives, since before they could walk_, _ was made up of fights and formation and meditation. Hours upon hours of grueling workouts, pushing themselves to the point where breathing seemed like too much of a chore, where their eyelids refused to open and their limbs shook with every step. There were days upon days of meditation with little to no food or water available to sustain their energy as they focused on communicating with the spirit world and tapping into the Avatar state. 

They learned the ancient bending that had been passed down for centuries. The strong base of earth, the rapid strikes of fire, the fluidity of water, and the lightness of air, combining them all into one form of fighting, regardless of whether or not they could bend specific elements. After they had mastered the ancient arts to the point where they could win a fight in their sleep, they were moved onto sword fighting, projectiles, battle tactics, hand to hand combat, chi blocking and many more.

The only time they were separated was when they focused on the finer points of bending. Jinae would be whisked away by Ashi to practice blood bending and Daesan would be forced by Bosku to create metal wire after metal wire and haul himself up the same five stone walls over 400 times, the sounds of his sister's cries ringing in his ears as she was forced to make another person unwillingly submit to her.

At night, in the safety of one of their bedrooms, Jinae would sob as Daesan held her in his aching arms and throbbing hands. She would tremble as she healed his wounds and soothed his muscles, her dark hair falling and covering amber eyes so much like his own, but never healed herself. It was times like these where he cursed the fact that he couldn't bend water, that he couldn't heal her. Instead, he just sent gentle breezes over the irritated skin as he whispered words of comfort into her hair.

\-----

"We're going to get out of here. And when we do, we'll go far, far away, where they can't reach us." He murmured one night into the scarcely lit room and she weakly laughed.

"That's a good idea. But where will we go? The world's changed, Dae. It doesn't need the Avatar anymore. Why else would we be stuck in this place?" She responded, curling her arms tighter around his waist in an effort to stop shivering. Daesan guessed she was too weak to focus her bending on keeping her warm. He tugged the blanket over her while contemplating his response.

"Then we'll just work undercover. But being here in this facility… it's not what the Avatar is meant to do. Everyone in the Spirit World is worried, our past lives are all but screaming at us to leave- Kyoshi and Korra _ are _ screaming at us. We know we can't keep this up forever, they're running us to the ground," He insisted, sitting up. Jinae groaned and pulled herself up to face him with weary eyes.

"Dae… if we could, I would totally go for it. But… how? It's not possible. We are _surrounded _by master benders and swordsmen and guards," She said. Daesan took her shaking hands in his, their metal bracelets clinking together.

(He had made them on a whim one night. Hers were made of flint and steel so she could create the sparks needed for fire and his had blocks of metal so that he could always bend wires.

Jinae had smiled at him with tears in her eyes and never took them off. They were always hidden by her sleeves so that Ashi wouldn't get suspicious and confiscate them.)

"Jenni… have you forgotten who we are? We're the Avatar, we are stronger than all of them combined and they know it. Why else would they go overboard on security? Why else would they continuously put us down and wear us out to the point of exhaustion?" 

Jinae laughed at the nickname and weakly squeezed his hands. Her smile faded from her face as she gazed at his calloused hands, turning them over in her palms. Her dark brows furrowed and her hair partially fell onto her face as she bit her lip in thought.

"Ok…" She quietly said and Daesan eagerly leaned forward, ignoring his aching muscles for the time being.

"Ok?" 

"We need supplies first… and a plan."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look at that
> 
> aNoThEr uPdAtE!??!!

The plan was simple enough, Jinae supposed— sneak out in the dead of night when there was only the night patrol to worry about. Daesan would metal bend the doors open and they would both run like hell and take to the air before the guards showed up. 

(The night before they escaped, with their hands clasped together and their eyes squeezed shut, they checked in with their past lives. Aang had attempted to caution them before getting shoved out of the way by Korra who promptly shouted at them to “get off their asses and leave already, dear Raava.”)

Jinae snuck down the hallway, trying her best to ignore her nerves, with her brother close behind her, searching for his air glider. They had gotten all the supplies they needed and were about to escape when he remembered his air glider.

“Are you sure you saw them place it in here?” She hissed as he cracked open a door, “Maybe it’s in the other closet.”

“No… no, it’s… right… here! Aha!” He softly exclaimed, grabbing it out of the corner. Jinae let out a relieved breath and adjusted her backpack. It was loaded up with several changes of clothes, food, water, and some money. Her brother’s pack contained about the same things, along with his spare set of throwing knives and shurikens. Jinae slowly pushed the door open wider, her right hand resting on the hilt of her sword as she cautiously scanned the hallway.

“All clear. Let’s go, we’ve wasted enough time as it is.” She muttered, taking off. Their feet made no noise against the concrete floor and Daesan quickly metal bent the doors open. Immediately, the alarm rang out and he flicked his glider open as Jinae shoved her sleeves up her arms and struck her bracelets together. A bright spark appeared and quickly grew into a flame as Daesan jumped and bent the air to his will, Jinae following with the fire propelling her off the ground. Together, they sailed up towards the moon, out of range of all the guards. 

(Distantly, he could hear the shouts and curses as they disappeared beyond the clouds and couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. After all, they had spent their entire lives in that compound- it was all they knew. Then again, they were basically prisoners there and he'd be damned if he didn't at least _ try _to get them out.)

Daesan couldn’t help but let out a huff of laughter as they both leveled out and started east. Jinae maneuvered herself to fly slightly in front of her brother, lighting his way as her brow creased in concentration and sweat shimmered on her forehead. But there was a slight smile on her face that spoke volumes and that was all that mattered.

\------

After four weeks of traveling on foot, hiding from people and fending off wildlife, they finally stumbled into Hell's Kitchen, bruised and starving. No one batted an eye at the two tattered arrivals who took up temporary residence in the abandoned warehouse. They stayed there, healing and training, and quietly celebrated their twentieth birthday with tired smiles and an extra short training session.

“We should move deeper into the city. Somewhere where it’s really crowded so that they won’t have a _ chance _ of tracking us down.” Jinae stated one day, dropping her arms and, by extension, the water whip she was currently bending. Daesan didn’t respond, didn't react when the water hit his calves, and just continued to practice with his shurikens.

“Daesan?” She said, crossing her arms in annoyance. He ignored her and summoned the throwing stars back to his hands. 

“Daesan! I know you can hear me!”

“Yes! Yes, I can hear you, _alright!”_ He exclaimed, throwing the shurikens and turning around. The small metal stars pierced the wall of the warehouse with a loud thwack, but neither of them flinched. Jinae stepped forward and he held out a hand. "I just- I need to process! Jenni, we have no _money_, we have no _jobs_ _to_ _get_ said money, we have no friends, no resources-- don't you get it, we are _alone."_

Jinae was silent as he calmed himself down from his rant and dragged a hand over his face.

"We're not alone though. We have each other, and from what I've seen so far, we can be pretty damn resourceful." She softly said, reaching for his calloused hand, which was so much bigger than hers. She gripped it tightly and attempted a smile.

"It's going to be hard, but I know we can make it. We got out of that damn compound and we're _still_ alive. But we’re vulnerable here, we need security and we need to blend in. It’s like going undercover in the fire nation, remember?”

“We’ve never been to the fire nation,” Daesan replied. Jinae dropped his hand and shut her eyes, visibly fighting back a scream of frustration.

“Yes, we have. We just don’t remember it.”

“Where would we go? It’s ridiculously expensive to live in New York, and I will repeat, _ yet again, _ that we have no money.”

“And _ I _ will repeat that we can _ figure it out.” _

“This is a terrible idea.”

"Oh come on, what's the worst that could happen?" She asked with a playful smile. Daesan sighed and shook his head.

——


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaand I'm back!
> 
> Hope you enjoy... whatever this chapter is!
> 
> and uh leave kudos and comments bc they warm my heart and brighten my day!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> \- Zen

New York City, as it turned out, had quite a few loopholes to slip through when it came to paperwork, jobs, and housing- all it took was finding the right person with the right type of deal and a willingness to look the other way. Within a few months, Jinae had managed to nab a job working at a shawarma restaurant_. _It wasn’t particularly busy, but the pay was enough and, as Jinae had figured out, if you showed a little skin, batted your eyes, and smiled, the tips would increase by tenfold.

(Daesan had protested the first time he had come to pick her up and seen her oxford shirt open and tied at the waist, revealing the black tank top that showed enough smooth skin to tempt wandering eyes. He had immediately ordered her to "button up her shirt, dammit" because she would "catch her death with that much skin on display." She’d retaliated by punching him in the stomach and waving her tips back and forth in front of his face.

"We need the money, Dae, don't act like we don't." She replied and he huffed.)

Daesan, since he had nothing to do all day except train, meditate, and worry, had taken it upon himself to scout for an apartment with a reasonable price at least biking distance from where Jinae currently worked. He had managed to narrow it down to three potential apartments, all within a twenty-minute bike ride from Jinae’s job. Now, all he needed to do was catch her up on everything and make her decide on which apartment they were going to rent. The now twenty-year-old shoved his hands into the pockets of his worn, black coveralls and briskly walked towards the small restaurant where his sister currently was. 

The restaurant was a small hole in the wall located on the corner of 45th Street and 3rd Avenue with tacky signage and bright fluorescent lights that hurt your eyes if you stared for too long. If you stopped at the entrance and turned around, you could see the sun reflecting off of the top of Stark Tower in the distance. Daesan didn’t look though, he didn’t need a reminder of how far down they had fallen.

He pushed open the door, feeling the heat from the stove blast into his face and he ran a hand partly through his hair as he scanned the sparse crowd for Jinae. The dark-haired girl was currently on her lunch break and sitting at the back corner booth near the soda machine with three beef kebabs and a shitton of garlic sauce laid out in front of her.

"Hey, _ pabo_," He greeted as he plopped down into the seat across from her. She rolled her eyes and pushed the plate of kebabs towards him.

“What’s up, _ báichī?" _ She replied, snagging a piece of beef from the plate with a grin. Daesan rolled his eyes as he pulled the folded up paper from his pocket and smoothed it out on the table.

"I've narrowed it down to three potential places all affordable, all nearby, and once I get a job, we won't have to count every single penny that comes our way," Daesan explained as Jinae quickly scanned the paper.

"One bedroom, one bath with a small kitchenette and a balcony!" she muttered with an incredulous grin, "I mean if we can afford it, let's rent this one because we could grow plants on the balcony for when we're low on food."

Daesan leaned back as he popped a piece of garlic soaked beef in his mouth and nodded. They spent a few moments in silence, just eating and listening to the chatter around them before Jinae broke the silence, her slight grin slipping into a pensive frown. Daesan tilted his head, wordlessly prompting her to go on and she sighed noisily.

"Has anyone been looking for us?" Jinae asked quietly, biting her lip. _ Oh, _ he thought, _ this again. _

"Not that I can tell. We made sure we weren't followed and we're a _ long _way from Nevada," He replied lowly, popping another piece of beef into his mouth as his foot started to quickly tap on the floor. Jinae sighed and rubbed her forehead with a groan.

“Ok, ok… sorry. I’m just… being paranoid,” She muttered and he shook his head.

“Validly paranoid, given all the shit we’ve been through for the past twenty years,” He replied with a wry grin. 

“Don’t say that it makes us sound old!” 

“It’s true though, we _ are _ twenty.” She rolled her eyes and stood up, stretching her aching muscles.

“I get off at four, so we could go talk to the realtor after I’m done,” She said, adjusting the red headband on her head, tucking the stray hairs back out of her face. Daesan nodded and shoved the plate closer to her.

“Finish this, Jenni, you need it more than I do,” he said and she glared.

“You’re taller and therefore have more mass, you eat it.”

“Bitch.”

“Asshole.”

They glared at each other before Jinae grudgingly swiped one kebab off the plate and two small containers of garlic sauce, pointedly looking at the rest of the plate before dropping a kiss on his cheek and making her way back to the counter. Daesan laughed and continued to eat.

On his way back to their small alcove, he kept an eye out for any job opportunities he might be qualified for. Seeing no fliers or ads anywhere, he made his way back, dejected. He felt faint vibrations of people cheering travel through the ground and he stopped. Daesan crouched down and placed his palm on the sidewalk, closing his eyes and focusing. He saw fleeting images of people being thrown around a ring of some sort with other people surrounding them and cheering. _ What...? _

He followed the vibrations, weaving between shops and alleyways, getting further and further from his previous destination. Finally, he arrived at a small metal shack that looked like it had been slapped together by someone who had one too many beers and limited supplies. He discreetly palmed a blade and pushed the door open, the vibrations getting steadily more noticeable. A dimly lit flight of stairs was present and he cautiously descended, drawing back slightly when he reached the bottom. 

The roar of the crowd was deafening and he observed from the back that they were betting money. _ Agni, it’s a fighting ring. _ One of the spectators had noticed him lingering in the back and made his way over to him. Daesan pulled back when a scarred hand was thrust in his face.

“Hey, the name’s James,” The stranger said and Daesan glanced at his hand before raising a brow.

“Hello… James,” he replied. The crowd roared louder than before as a man went flying across the ring, crashing into the flimsy ropes that looped around. He didn’t get back up. Daesan watched in morbid fascination as challenger after challenger went down to the 300 lb monster of a man in the center of the ring.

“Say,” He shouted, to be heard over the crowd, “What does one have to do to compete?” James looked over, surprise flitting over his face before being schooled into a gleeful expression.

“The rules are simple, don’t kill, don’t ask for more money than you’ve won, and don’t talk about it,” James said, his crooked smile looking decidedly more sinister than before. 

“Who’s that in the ring right now?”

“Ah, that would be _ The Big Kahuna. _ Kind of a misleading name in my opinion, but hey, who am I to judge?” 

Daesan swallowed and glanced back at the ring. Someone had decided to be brave, or idiotic and challenge _ The Big Kahuna_.

“Are those all?” He asked as the challenger went down. The crowd surged forward as the bet’s climbed higher and higher, reaching around the $1,000,000 mark and his stomach swooped. _ To have that much money. _ James nodded and pulled him forward, closer to the rink.

“You up for a challenge, boy?” 

Daesan licked his lips and cracked his neck. _ Just think of the cash. It’s for you and Jinae. _

“Sure, why not?


End file.
